Saints Fan Diary Vol 10. - Super Saints

Well, they did it. It's taken a few days for the reality to sink in that the team I've loved the most for the realized part of my existence won the world championship. Even typing the words now that the Saints have won the Super Bowl is a surreal experience. Something I never thought would happen. But, it did happen. And, although the journey to Miami was the roller-coaster ride of a lifetime, there is no greater feeling as a sports fan than seeing the Saints lift the Lombardi Trophy.

The Super Bowl was a completely different experience for Saints fans than the NFC Championship Game. As a game, the Vikings showdown was much more stressful and panic inducing because it was to get to the Super Bowl. That game, in New Orleans, symbolized the struggle of the entire Saints franchise to finally reach the big game. The NFC title game was a back and forth affair and the emotional swings were intense. Winning the NFC title in the Superdome was such a powerful and symbolic event for New Orleans and Saints fans everywhere that it was finally a joy just to make it to the Super Bowl.

But of course, you still want your team to win the title! Who knows, this may be the only chance that the Saints get (just ask Cubs fans) and you have to take advantage of it. All day, I just believed for whatever reason that the Saints could get it done. I don't know how or why, but I just kept telling myself "today will be a good day" about 300 times. Granted, down 10-0 at the end of the first quarter I wasn't exactly feeling so optimistic.

Garret Hartley was in the zone. His performance was one of many that won the game in a total team effort for New Orleans. Don't underestimate his first FG to make it 10-3. Those first points in the Super Bowl are always the hardest to get and that drive helped get New Orleans into the flow of the game. In my mind, I knew that New Orleans had the power to come back, but did they have the defense to slow down the Colts? I don't think even the most biased Saints fan saw a 31-7 run in the last 3 quarters coming.

The first turning point was Pierre Garcon's drop. This stop was absolutely huge because it allowed the Saints to limit Manning's possessions and control the 2nd quarter clock. Another good drive brought them to 1st and Goal inside the 5 in the closing minutes of the first half. When 4th down came, millions of Saints fans knew Sean Payton would go for it. While the running play was stuffed, his coaching in this stretch was phenomenal. He timed the sequence just right to get another Hartley FG while making sure Manning got no more points going into the break. Even though the 4th down stop happened, the momentum was in the corner of New Orleans. As a fan, I was some weird combination of skeptical and hopeful while just praying that they could come out of the halftime break with something special.

Little did I know that the gutsiest call in Super Bowl history would come after The Who were wheeled off stage back to the nursing home. I had a sneaking suspicion Sean Payton might do something crazy in this game, and the onside kick coming out of the second half was the brilliant call that changed the game...

I was screaming at the TV just hoping the Saints had the ball after the longest and most dramatic unpiling in the history of Western Civilization... and I don't think that's an overexaggeration! Thankfully for my health, Chris Reis and Jonathan Casillas made sure the Saints had the ball.

The night before the game, I watched highlights of every Saints game this season just to enjoy the memories of the 2009 season. It was a great reminder that win or lose, this season had been like no other and had provided so many great memories. Evidently, Sean Payton was thinking something similar. For this game, he didn't need Ronnie Lott or Bill Parcells to provide motivation, but to remind this team how great they are and the ride they took their fans on this season. From ESPN...

The storyline was predictable: The scrappy Saints, the plucky overachievers, were facing the best player in the game, Peyton Manning. What was lost during the week, but was painfully obvious Sunday, is that the Saints weren't overachieving at all: They're actually really, really talented. That's why, on the morning of the game, coach Sean Payton didn't show his players a clip from "Rocky" to get them pumped up. No, he played a highlight reel from their season, reminding them of the greatness they already have achieved. The Super Bowl victory was technically an upset, but to the Saints, it was a natural progression."

One thing I did notice during all those highlights was Pierre Thomas' brilliant screen passes. He's the best in the NFL at breaking through tackles and reading blocks on the screen and seeing a screen put the Saints in the lead was a fitting play. Thomas was another unsung hero for New Orleans - an undrafted free agent out of Illinois who earned his spot as the starting running back of a Super Bowl champ. The TD occurs at the :58 mark...

And just like that, the Saints were in the lead in the Super Bowl. I had to ask my family if it was real! It was! The Saints were leading in the Super Bowl in the 2nd half! For the first time it really hit me that there was a chance that the Saints could actually become World Champions. The 2nd half was the most fun I have ever had watching any sporting event. The positive energy of this team is infectious, and to see America get behind them (highest rated TV event... ever!) makes it all the more special.

After an exchange of an Indy TD and a NO FG, the score was 17-16 entering the 4th quarter. With Indy driving, the Saints were able to stop them on the edge of FG range. Luckily, Matt Stover missed from outside 50, giving the ball to New Orleans with great field position and an opportunity to take a 4th quarter lead. The Saints did not disappoint. Brees was a perfect 8/8 to 8 different receivers including a 2 point conversion, capped off by a redemption TD for Jeremy Shockey and an acrobatic catch by Lance Moore...

OK, obviously at this point I'm beyond excited. Just over 5 minutes away from the impossible dream coming true. But, Peyton Manning, the Sheriff, was on the other sideline. Surely they couldn't do to Manning what they did to Warner and Favre. You heard all week that the Saints D wasn't up to the task and couldn't do the job against one of the all-time greats. Well, that was until Tracy Porter etched his name into the annals of history with what now has to be the most famous INT of all-time...

The joy in that moment is unmatched. Our entire family was standing in our living room jumping up and down and screaming with joy. All I could do was just scream YEEESSSS over and over again at the top of my lungs. Even though I had to sweat out the last 3 minutes, that one play was what I have watched thousands and thousands of hours of sports for. We love sports because it's unscripted drama. We wait for that one play that we'll remember the rest of our lives. Tracy Porter's INT was that play. I grew up an NFL fan. I've seen the Super Bowl videos of John Riggins, Old Man Willie, and Joe Willie Namath. I never thought that my team would have one of those iconic moments that will live forever. A few minutes later Drew Brees took a knee and the Saints had won the Super Bowl.

There were no tears of joy this time. This experience was unlike the NFC Championship - now it was time to celebrate! I ran outside to do a quick snowangel in the yard (in shorts and a t-shirt btw) and tried to get back inside by the time the coaches shook hands. Judging by the scenes of Saints fans everywhere, winning the Super Bowl meant pure, unbridled joy. Yes, Who Dat Nation couldn't believe it, but finally our guys were the ones lifting the Lombardi Trophy. It would have been nice to go to the parade and join an estimated 800,000 Saints fans, but the snow and work and school obligations in C-Bus meant I had to be there in spirit. Oh, well... maybe I'll make it there for the 2010 Home opener.

When I say it was the happiest day of my life, that may sound sad and pathetic, and that I need to prioritize my life and get it in order, and all of that nonsense... but, it's really true! This is a team I've lived and died with for 20 years, for all of my known existence. I can never remember not being a Saints fan. And now, they can never take this season and this trophy away. When you follow a team so passionately for so long, this is the day you dream about coming true. The memories will last forever, and I won't come down from this high for quite some time.

To see what this SB trophy has meant to Saints fans and the city of New Orleans is almost impossible to quantify with words. Just look at the pictures and the videos. Look at the joy, hope, and unity this team and this championship has brought to a city that was almost wiped off of the map. This championship may mean more to a city and a fanbase than any championship in sports history - and I firmly believe that.

The 2009 New Orleans Saints were a team of destiny. Players who were undrafted, casted off, overrated, not good enough, players who conqured demons, a coach that was too bold, an owner that was too old, and a QB that was too short who went 29/32 in the final 3 quarters of the Super Bowl and won the MVP. Drew Brees spoke of his time in New Orleans as a divine calling and fans on the Gulf Coast have had their faith restored because of this team... heck the pope even allowed Saints flags to be flown in churches on Super Sunday! What other event in sports has ever done so much for its fans? Like my brother said, this trophy isn't going to rebuild homes or people's lives, but it has brought so much hope and happiness to people who deserve it. Ironically, I think it was CNN's David Gergen who said it best...

New Orleans is not back yet, and the crown may not sit long on the temple of the Saints - one can already see Peyton Manning plotting out next year. But isn’t this a moment to savor? Isn’t this a time to remind ourselves that if New Orleans and the Saints can rally together to get up off their backs and stand tall, so can America itself?

If the Saints can be champions, then so can the great people of the city of New Orleans, and so can anyone else who has been told that they can't do it for any reason. In this case, this team and this year was about so much more than a game. For this sports fan, it was a season and a championship that will never be matched. It was about the redemptive story of a team, a city, and a nation of supporters that believed and finished strong as World Champions.

We hope you've enjoyed our NFL coverage and our Saints fan diary. Thanks to everyone who has been along for the ride. Blogging will be a little lighter in the next couple weeks so I can recover, and because we will be broadcasting the NCAC Swimming Championships (featuring 30 time D3 champ Kenyon) this weekend from Canton. We have some other projects on the table as well, but we'll still check in on the Olympics, the hardwood, and everything else inbetween. Who dat! Bye for now...